New York State Troopers investigate the scene of a fiery chain-reaction crash in a roadwork zone on Route 11 Thursday, July 19, 2012 in Antwerp, N.Y. Police say a tractor-trailer driven by James A. Mills Jr. of Myerstown, Pa., struck several vehicles that had slowed or stopped on the road. Five died in one SUV. They’re identified as 42-year-old Laurie Dana of Lawrence; her daughters, 14-year-old Catelyn and 11-year-old Lauren; 69-year-old Janet Dana; and 14-year-old Shannon Planty. Police say another driver, 59-year-old Maryann Gregory of Dickinson Center, died at a hospital. (AP Photo/The Watertown Daily Times, Amanda Morrison)ANTWERP, N.Y. (AP) – A state police accident reconstruction team is using a computer simulation program and interviewing witnesses to determine the sequence of events in a fiery chain-reaction crash that killed six people including four family members in a northern New York roadwork zone.
Police say a tractor-trailer driven by James A. Mills Jr., 45, of Myerstown, Pa., struck several vehicles Thursday that had slowed or stopped where paving was being done on Route 11 in Jefferson County. Five died in an SUV that burst into flames. A state transportation worker whose truck erupted in flames was hospitalized in critical condition, and a woman whose SUV flipped over died at a hospital.
Police said two other tractor-trailers were struck in the chain reaction but were only slightly damaged.
Mills was taken to a hospital for toxicology tests and released. The county district attorney’s office is investigating whether any charges are warranted, said Trooper Jack Keller.
State police identified the driver of the SUV that exploded in flames as Laurie Dana, 42, an elementary school speech therapist from Lawrence, a rural town about 60 miles northeast of the crash site and 15 miles south of the Canadian border. Also in the vehicle were her two daughters, Caitlyn, 14, and Lauryn, 11, and her mother-in-law, Janet Dana, 69. The fifth victim was Shannon Planty, 14, a friend of Caitlyn.